Sidewalk banking apparatus



Jam 25, 1955 c. D. ELLITHORPE 2,700,433

SIDEWALK BANKING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 28, 1952 INVENTOR.

' lzfence Di/[ilfiorpe BY A ORNEXS' SIDEWALK BANKING APPARATUS ClarenceD. Ellithorpe, Milford, Conn., assignor to Duplex Electric Company,Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application February28, 1952, Serial No. 274,032

9 Claims. (Cl. 186-1) This invention relates to improvements in sidewalkbanking apparatus and, more particularly, to a new apparatus in thenature of a curb teller for use in rendering banking services or thelike with equal facility both to pedestrians on a sidewalk and tovehicles parked at the adjacent street curb.

Sidewalk banking apparatus of the curb teller type is known in which aclosed stand or kiosk projecting upward from a sidewalk next to thestreet curb provides means for visual and oral communications and meansfor the transmission of articles between the occupant of an automobileparked at the curb and a person attendmg the apparatus from within theconfines of a bank building. This known apparatus is not suited forpedestrian use, since a pedestrian desiring to use it must step into thestreet and stand there at considerable inconvenience and with a risk ofpersonal injury by passing vehicles. In order to serve pedestrians atthe sidewalk, banks have provided special windows or booths whichrequire thelr own tellers and which seldom can be located so as to servemotorists as well as pedestrians.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a sidewalkbanking apparatus by which banking services or the like can be renderedwith equal facility and safety both to pedestrians on a sidewalk and tooccupants of vehicles at the adjacent street curb, and one which can beattended by a single person.

A further object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus thatis etficient and safe in construction and operation and which fullyprotects the attendant against personal injury and protects theapparatus and the valuables involved in the banking transactions againstvandalism.

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of thisinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionand the accompanying drawing of an illustrative embodiment. In thedrawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-section through an assembled sidewalk bankingapparatus embodying this invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the sidewalk stand or kiosk of theapparatus shown in Fig. l;

' Fig. 3 is a perspective View of a lower portion of the apparatusbeneath the sidewalk, and

Figure 4 is a horizontal cross-section taken along line 44 of Figure 1As seen in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the sidewalk banking apparatus hereillustrated is one of the curb teller type and includes a verticallyelongated rotary housing 10 rotatably disposed in an opening 12 formedin a sidewalk structure 14, through which the housing extends upwardinto a stand 16 that is mounted in the sidewalk structure around opening12 and encloses the upper portion of the housing. Typically, the stand16 and opening 12 are located adjacent to the curb 17 of a street 18.The rotary housing-extends downward from them into a room 20 beneath thesidewalk, where an attendant may be stationed, and this room forms partof a bank or similar building which may be bounded by a retaining wall19 along the street foundation.

The housing 10 as here illustrated has the form of an elongated cylindercomprising a cylindrical body wall and top and bottom end walls 22 and23. These walls carry pintles 24 and 25, respectively, which are locatedon the axis of the cylinder and which support it for rotationhorizontally in upper and lower bearings 26 and United States Patent M.80 27, respectively.v The upper bearing may be mounted 2,700,433Patented Jan. 25, 1955 on top wall 28 of the stand 16, while the lowerbearing 27 may be mounted on the floor 29 of room 20.

The upper portion of the cylindrical housing 10, i. e., that partprojecting above the sidewalk opening, is formed at one side, near thetop, with a window 30 behind which a downwardly slanted mirror 32 ismounted in the housing. The lower portion of the housing, i. e., thatpart projecting into room 20, is formed with a window opening 33 in aside of the cylinder opposite to the side containing window 30, andbehind opening 33 an upwardly slanted mirror 34 is mounted in thehousing in parallel relation to the upper mirror 32. Thus a line ofvision diagrammed as H is provided for visual communications between anattendant standing before the opening 33 in room 20 and customersoutside the stand 16.

Adjacent to the upper window 30, i. e., immediately below it in thisform, the housing 10 is formed with an article transfer opening 36 whichconstitutes the upper or outwardly opening end of a passageway 37extending along the body wall of the housing. A longitudinal channelstructure 38 in the cylindrical housing body defines this passageway,which extends downward through the sidewalk opening 12 and into aninternal recessed portion 39 of the housing structure. That portionopens into room 20 below the lower window opening 33, so as to beaccessible to the attendant but inaccessible to persons outside stand16. Thus the passageway 37 permits the transfer of articles such as bankbooks, deposits, and the like, between customers at the sidewalk and anattendant inside the apparatus, with full protection against vandalismor injury, for the attendant and for the articles being transferred; andto facilitate the article transfers suitable conveying means may beprovided.

According to the illustrated embodiment, a carrier 40 is movablevertically between a position opposite opening 36 and a positionopposite recess 39, this carrier be ing suspended between ends of achain 41 which passes downward from the carrier around a drivingsprocket 42 in the base 43 of housing 10 and thence passes upward andover idler sprockets to a connection with the top of the carrier. Oneidler sprocket 44 is mounted at the top of the channel structure 38,while another (not shown) may be in line with sprocket 44 at one side ofthe channel structure. Longitudinal guides 67 on the side walls of thatstructure coact with flanges 68 on the end walls of the carrier, as seenin Fig. 2, so as to hold the carrier to the desired path in passageway37.

The driving sprocket 42 is driven through a reduction gear box 45 from areversible driving motor 46 mounted in the housing base 43. Theoperation of the driving motor is controlled through a suitableelectrical circuit (not shown) by means of a switch 47 having a handle48 located for convenient manipulation by the attendant in room 20. Bymoving the switch handle in one direction the attendant causes thedriving mechanism to move the carrier 40 upward into registry withopening 36, where it will be accessible for loading or unloading by acustomer, while movement of the switch handle in the opposite directioncauses the carrier to be returned to a lower position where it isaccessible for unloading or loading through recess 39 by the attendantor teller. The current supply for motor 36 may be furnished throughaflexible electrical cable 49 extending from a master switch 50 mountedon wall 19.

Referring more particularly to the construction of stand 16, this asshown is a closed stand substantially square in horizontalcross-section. It presents a front wall 52 facing the street 18, a sidewall 54 facing along the sidewalk 14, a closed back wall 55, and aclosed side wall 56. The base of the stand is mounted in the sidewalkstructure by being seated on a support 58 of angular cross-section whichis embedded in the sidewalk, and being surrounded by a reinforcing band59 which confines the lower edges of walls 52, 54, 55 and 56 betweenitself and the upright portion of angular member 58.

The front and side walls 52 and 54 of stand 16 are formed, respectively,with article transfer openings 60, 60a on the level of the upper opening36 of housing 10, and these walls are also provided, respectively, withtransparent window panels 62, 62a adjacent to and above the respective.article transfer openings. The window panels 62, 62a are preferablypanels of bullet resistant glass. The article transfer openings 60, 60aare provided, respectively, with hinged doors 64, 64a which may beopened and closed in any desired manner. Each door preferably is hingedat its lower edge so as to form a shelf or deal tray for the convenientuse of customers when the door is open. The movements of each doorpreferably are controlled by an automatic mechanism co-ordinated withmovements of the article carrier 40, through a door operating mechanismof the type disclosed in my co-pending application, Serial No. 256,627,filed November 16, 1951.

Fig. 3 of the drawing shows the lower portion of the rotary housing 10,and as there shown handles 70 and 71 may be fixed to this portion atlocations convenient to the attendant in room 20, who may grasp thehandles and. move them to rotate the whole housing structure from one tothe other of twoworking positions.

Of course, a power operated means for rotating the housing can beprovided, if desired. In one working position of the housing, the upperhousing opening 36 registers with the article transfer opening 60 anddoor 64 in the front wall 52 of the sidewalk stand, and the upper mirror32 is aligned with the front wall window panel 62. In this position theapparatus is adapted to serve customers in vehicles parked at curb 17 infront of the stand 16, and the attendant in room 20 stands at the frontside 73 of a counter 72 which surrounds the lower portion of thehousing.

On the other hand, if a pedestrian desiring banking service approachesthe stand 16 on sidewalk 14, the attendant may be made aware of hispresence by a suitable signal and may then rotate the housing 10 throughan arc of 90 so as to dispose the housing opening 36 and window inalignment with the article transfer opening 60a and window panel 62a ofthe stand side wall 54. By moving around the corner of counter 72 to end74 thereof the attendant can see and serve pedestrians standing on thesidewalk.

It will be understood that suitable signalling means comprising a pushbutton 75a or the like may be provided on wall 54 for the use ofpedestrians, and that similar means comprising a push button 75 on frontwall 52 may be provided for the use by motorists desiring service fromthe street or front side of the stand. The signalling means may includean electrically connected sounding device such as a buzzer, chimes orthe like, which can be mounted in the base of the housing structure asindicated diagrammatically at 78 in Fig. 1.

In addition to the described provisions for visual communications andfor the transmission of objects between customers at either locationoutside stand 16 and an attendant in room 20, there may also beprovisions for oral communications between customers and the attendant.For this purpose the stand walls 52 and 54 may be formed with grills 80,80a, respectively, for transmitting sound into and from the apparatus.The hollow housing itself may provide sufficient sound transmissionbetween these grills and the lower window opening 33, or a specialelectrical or electronic sound communication system may be provided, ifdesired.

It will be understood that the embodiment hereinabove described andillustrated in the drawing is exemplary and that various changes,omissions and additions may be made without departing from the scope ofthe invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a sidewalk banking apparatus or the like for servicing customersat different locations by a sidewalk structure or the like, anoscillatory housing adapted to extend upward from such structure andhaving an upright wall portion formed with an opening for the transferof articles into and from the housing by a customer, means on thehousing to support it for oscillatory movement between positions in eachof which said opening is accessible to customers at one of saidlocations, the housing having internal portion inaccessible to personsat said locations but accessible to an authorized attend ant. and meansfor transferring articles between the last ncntic-ned portion and saidopening in any of said housing positions.

In a sidewalk banking apparatus or the like for servicing customers atdifferent locations by a sidewalk structure or the like, an oscillatoryhousing having an upright wall portion adapted to extend upward fromsuch structure and formed" with an article transfer opening, a stand toenclose said upright wall portion and formed with horizontally spacedopenings to face said locations on the level of the housing opening,means on the housing to support it for oscillatory movement betweendifferent positions in each of which its opening registers with one ofthe. stand openings, the housing having an internal portion inaccessibleto persons at said locations but accessible to an authorized attendant,and means for transferring articles between the last mentioned portionand the housing opening in any of said housing posi tions.

3. In a sidewalk banking apparatus or the like for servicing customersat different locations by a sidewalk structure or the like, anoscillatory housing having an upright wall portion adapted to extendupward from such structure and formed with an article transfer opening,a stand adapted to be mounted on said structure and to enclose saidupright wall portion, said stand being formed with horizontally spacedopenings to face said locations on the level of the housing opening,means on the housing to support it for oscillatory movement betweendifferent positions in each of which its opening registers with one ofthe stand openings, the housing having an internal portion inaccessibleto persons at said locations but accessible to an authorized attendant,means for transferring articles between the last mentioned portion andthe housing opening in any of said housing positions, and means forvisual communication between the attendant and a customer at any of saidlocations, including window panels in the stand adjacent to therespective stand openings and a window in said upright wall portion toregister with one of said window panels in each of said housingpositions.

4. In a sidewalk banking apparatus or the like for servicing customersat different locations by a sidewalk structure or the like, an elongatedrotatable housing adapted to extend vertically through an opening insuch structure and having an upper portion to project thereabove and alower portion to project into a room therebelow, said upper portionbeing formed with an opening for the transfer of articles to and fromthe housing by, and with a window for observation of, such customers,said lower portion being formed with an opening accessible to anattendant in such room, means for transferring articles between saidhousing, openings, means for visual communication between such attendantand a customer before said housing window, and means on the housing tosupport it for rotation about a vertical axis so as to dispose theopening and window of said upper portion at any desired one of saidlocations.

5. In a sidewalk banking apparatus or the like for servicing customersat different locations by a sidewalk structure or the like, an elongatedrotatable housing adapted to extend vertically through an opening insuch structure and having an upper portion to project thereabove and alower portion to project into a room therebelow, a stand adapted to bemounted on said structure and to enclose said upper housing portion,said upper portion being formed with an opening for the transfer ofarticles to and from the housing by, and with an adjacent window forobservation of, such customers, said stand being formed with angularlyspaced article transfer openings and adjacent transparent window panelsfor use of customers at the respective locations, said lower portionbeing formed with an opening accessible to an attendant in such room,means for transferring articles between said housing openings, and meanson the housing to support it for rotation about a vertical axis so as todispose the opening and window of said upper portion in registry withthe respective stand opening and window panel at any desired one of suchlocations.

6. In a sidewalk banking apparatus or the like for servicing customersat different, locations by a sidewalk or like structure, an elongatedrotary cylindrical housing having a window formed at one side of anupper portion thereof and another window formed at the opposite side ofa lower portion thereof, article transfer openings in the housingadjacent the respective windows, co-operating parallel mirrorsrespectively mounted in said housing behind said windows for visualcommunications between persons before the windows, and article conveyingmeans including a passageway extending along the housing between saidtransfer openings.

7. In a sidewalk banking apparatus or the like for servicing customersat different locations by a sidewalk structure or the like, an elongatedrotary cylindrical housing having a window formed at one side of anupper portion thereof and another window formed at the opposite side ofa lower portion thereof, article transfer openings in the housingadjacent the respective windows, cooperating parallel mirrorsrespectively mounted in said housing behind said windows for visualcommunications between persons before the windows, and article conveyingmeans including a passageway extending along the housing between saidtransfer openings, said housing extending vertically through an openingin such structure with said upper portion projecting thereabove and saidlower portion projecting into a room therebelow, and a stand mounted onsaid structure and enclosing said upper portion, said stand being formedwith an article transfer opening and an adjacent transparent windowpanel at each of said locations, and means supporting the housing forrotation about its longitudinal axis so as to dispose its upper windowand transfer opening in registry with the stand opening and window panelat any desired one of said locations.

8. In a sidewalk banking apparatus or the like for servicing customersat different locations by a sidewalk structure or the like, an elongatedrotary cylindrical housing having a window formed at one side of anupper portion thereof and another window formed at the opposite side ofa lower portion thereof, article transfer openings in the housingadjacent the respective windows, co-operating parallel mirrorsrespectively mounted in said housing behind said windows for visualcommunications between persons before the windows, and article conveyingmeans including a passageway extending along the housing between saidtransfer openings, said housing extending vertically through an openingin such structure with said upper portion projecting thereabove and saidlower portion projecting into a room therebelow, and a stand mounted onsaid structure and enclosing said upper portion, said stand being formedwith an article transfer opening and an adjacent transparent Windowpanel at each of said locations, means supporting the housing forrotation about its longitudinal axis so as to dispose its upper windowand transfer opening in registry with the stand opening and window panelat any desired one of said locations, and means controlled by anattendant in said room for rotating the housing.

9. in a sidewalk banking apparatus or the like for servicing customersat different locations by a sidewalk structure or the like, an elongatedrotary cylindrical housing having a window formed at one side of anupper portion thereof and another window formed at the opposite side ofa lower portion thereof, article transfer openings in the housingadjacent the respective windows, cooperating parallel mirrorsrespectively mounted in said housing behind said Windows for visualcommunications between persons before the windows, and article conveyingmeans including a passageway extending along the housing between saidtransfer openings, said housing extending vertically through an openingin such structure with said upper portion projecting thereabove and saidlower portion projecting into a room therebelow, and a stand mounted onsaid structure and enclosing said upper portion, said stand being formedwith an article transfer opening and an adjacent transparent windowpanel at each of said locations, and means supporting the housing forrotation about its longitudinal axis so as to dispose its upper windowand transfer opening in registry with the stand opening and window panelat any desired one of said locations, said supporting means comprisingco-operating axial pintles and bearings on ends of said housing andadjacent parts of said stand and said room.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSLindsay June 16, 1936 McClintock Oct. 14, 1952

